Chapter 68
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Old Woman (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jun wasn't an expert on the game's story, but he was still a veteran player by any measure.
The early days of the game <Blackout>.
There weren't even proper community sites back then, let alone user guides.
Jun had gathered all the information on his own, enduring countless trial and error every time he got stuck on the enemies' various patterns.
'And among them, the shamans were...'
Extremely tricky to deal with.
The ironclad rule "prepared mages are dangerous" applied just as much to shamans.
If anything, they were even worse.
'I lost characters over and over learning that the hard way.'
The answer was to avoid prepared shamans.
But there were times when you had to face them to progress the game.
And every time, Jun had exploited their weaknesses in various ways.
Plus, now he had the knowledge of sorcery from the "reincarnator."
'Fundamentally, shamans are...'
A breed that cherished their own bodies above all else.
That's why most people went after the shaman's main body and ended up getting counterattacked.
The same held true for this ghastly old hag.
The mirror summoned in front of her was a prime example.
A ability that reflected the opponent's attacks.
Of course, it couldn't withstand excessive impact, but unless there was a level gap of 2 or more, it was impossible to break through.
'Still, the greatest strength—and weakness—of sorcery lies in the ability itself.'
The basic premise of sorcery was "equivalent exchange."
Paying a certain price to a supernatural being to achieve your goal.
So the best way to deal with them was to sabotage that transaction.
For example, their sorcery mediums.
[Flare]
Now as natural as breathing, the incantation for [Flare] burst from his fingertips.
The target wasn't the ghastly old hag hiding behind the mirror like a turtle—but the base of the staff sucking in her energy.
"Nooooom!!"
The ghastly old hag bellowed in fury.
She was a skilled shaman with vast experience, and above all, she knew the weaknesses of sorcery better than anyone.
The moment she realized Jun's finger was aimed at the base of her staff, she swung it aside.
But [Flare] shot from his fingertip first.
It was a difference of a split second.
Pfshaa—!
[Flare] struck the spot where the ghastly old hag's staff had just been.
Kurrrung—!
And hit the sorcery medium beneath it dead-on.
But it couldn't fully destroy the completed sorcery.
In that brief instant, the hag had forcibly completed it by drawing in some of the energy connected to the ground.
There would be backlash for that, of course.
But right now, the ghastly old hag didn't care.
As long as she could deal with this unexpected wildcard, everything would be resolved.
[Sorcery: Dimensional Descent - Forest of Demise]
The sorcery activated.
Before the mage could even react, his sorcery struck the mage.
"Kirruk!"
The ghastly old hag's lips curled up to her ears.
How many sacrifices had she offered, how much time had she spent for this sorcery?
She had gathered the souls of the countless dead in her chalice and devoted years to research.
'You!'
But there was one dissatisfying point.
The sorcery wasn't perfect.
The mage's fireball had damaged the medium after all.
She'd barely completed it by pulling in the power of the sorcery laid on the ground.
'No matter. You'll become an eternal wandering soul there.'
Then, what to do with that body?
Her thoughts were already drifting that way.
His flesh was surely no ordinary thing.
Even his soul would be useful, enough to recoup her losses.
"Sunbae!"
"...Leader."
The young man and the small, skinny woman protecting the mage would make fine materials too.
But first.
"Baldy! Hold on even without me!"
It was time to pay the price for forcibly twisting the sorcery.
The moment he was struck by the ghastly old hag's sorcery, Jun felt his soul being flung somewhere.
He'd tried to destroy the sorcery outright, but the opponent was a prepared shaman.
One higher level than him at that, so in the end, he couldn't stop the activation.
'Ugh.'
His soul, being dragged away, shook violently.
He could feel some powerful entity forcing his soul to another place.
When he opened his eyes again.
Jun looked around and nodded.
"As expected, the Forest of Demise."
The Forest of Demise, one of the ghastly old hag's ultimate moves.
In a way, it resembled Sergei’s mental world barrier, but the essence was different.
This created an actual spiritual dimension.
'Lost so many characters here.'
When a character died, you couldn't even load a save file, so it had been incredibly stressful.
But thanks to that, Jun knew the solutions to this space well.
The problem was.
'No companions.'
Yes.
Unlike the game, the ghastly old hag had sent only Jun here alone.
Whether intentional or due to the disrupted sorcery, he didn't know.
But whatever the reason, if there was a problem, he'd solve it.
"Still... this looks exactly like the game."
The Forest of Demise.
A forest born of death.
True to its name, this dimension was filled solely with death.
The first thing visible was the gray sky.
Slightly different from the chalice's.
No stars, no moon, no sun.
Just a sky filled with heavy clouds, gray and oppressive.
Beneath that sky stretched hundreds, thousands of trees, withered and dead, oozing dark energy across a barren wasteland of death.
Splash—
As he took a step, damp moisture seeped underfoot.
The nose-stinging stench made him look down, and sure enough.
Water polluted by the black energy from the trees had formed massive puddles.
Numerous corpses floated on the surface.
The ground was filled not with soil, but with death made of bodies.
"What vile tastes."
A illusory dimension created by sorcery.
But die here, and you died in reality too.
Your body and soul would separate, becoming materials for the ghastly old hag's sorcery.
Of course, Jun had no intention of letting that happen.
"Hm."
Another step, and energy drained from his entire body.
Like a field's [Field Effect], the shaman's curse permeated the entire space.
'[Stamina Drain] and [Drought], huh.'
Both curses that lowered physical abilities.
'Though right now it's my soul state.'
Just a figure of speech—his soul was still affected.
'[Drought] is easy to handle.'
Just avoid touching that black water.
[Summon]
A dimension made of souls.
Naturally, normal artifacts wouldn't even activate.
This had been a huge hurdle in the game too.
<Blackout> relied heavily on gear and skills.
But not all artifacts were like that.
Vmmm—
The ground rumbled, and [Tear of Tayya] responded to Jun's summon, beginning to shape a golem.
"Working fine."
Growth-type artifacts like [Tear of Tayya] could be summoned even in the Forest of Demise.
Because they contained spiritual energy within themselves.
'Learned this thanks to Shylock.'
The artifact usage he'd learned from Shylock in that short time.
Of course, it didn't work on all artifacts. [Tear of Tayya] was a masterpiece that even Shylock, at the pinnacle of artifact craftsmanship, had marveled at.
"But why do you look like that?"
Jun frowned at the completed golem.
Unlike before, it took the form of a crimson-boned golem.
Apparently influenced by the terrain and his magic power.
Vmmm—
The golem hummed as if protesting its innocence.
Jun patted its shoulder and gave the order with a shrug.
"Carry me."
Vuuung—
It hummed again, as if saying "You scold me, but now you ask for a favor?"
'It's getting more human-like over time.'
Whether growth-types developed personalities too remained to be seen.
In the end, the golem grumbled but lifted Jun onto its palm and set him on its shoulder.
"Let's go."
Thanks to its innate [Magic Nullification], the golem was unaffected by the curses.
How long did they travel like that?
Bubble bubble bubble.
"Oh?"
They'd arrived at the first trial of the Forest of Demise.
Choose one of four doors to enter.
Of course, there were obstacles blocking the way.
"First trial? But..."
Bubbles rose from the water tainted with black energy.
A familiar sight.
In the game, blackened skeletons emerged from below.
But they couldn't be underestimated.
Their toughness was like rock if not steel, and they didn't fall easily to ordinary impacts.
Especially under these curses, taking them down would be tough.
Instead.
'Their magic resistance is abysmal, though...'
There was a problem.
"Why are there so many...?"
The numbers.
In the game, at most twenty appeared.
Clatter—
The ones rising before his eyes numbered at least three times that.
"Sunbae!"
Right after the ghastly old hag's sorcery activated.
Jun's body became hazy, like it was full of static.
Startled, Aiden reached out to touch it, but his hand passed right through.
"Damn it!"
Bern checked Jun's condition late as well.
He was an experienced holy knight.
He didn't know the exact mechanism of the sorcery, but he could guess what was happening.
"He's still alive! Focus on what's in front of us now!"
Aiden snapped to attention at Bern's shout.
Maya was already watching ahead.
There was the ghastly old hag, hunched in agony, and...
"Hm. Looks like there's an unexpected expert after all."
The slaughter monk shaking his head at her.
But the slaughter monk showed no concern for his pained ally.
Instead, he gripped his prayer beads tighter and turned his gaze to the group.
"Gerrruk! B-Baldy!"
"Don't worry, patron. It might be hard to fully subdue them..."
Suddenly, red energy erupted from his body.
"But buying time? That I can do. Patron, join once you're done sorting things out."
There was no reply from the ghastly old hag. Just a gurgling death-rattle.
Bern had to admire Jun's feat, no matter what the enemy had done.
The ghastly old hag was an impressive shaman even in his eyes.
Pushing one like that to this state in one go was no small thing.
"Eleanor. Stay behind me."
"Uncle..."
Eleanor wanted to lift the curse on Jun somehow, but it didn't seem like it would end quickly.
Right now, as Bern said, they had to focus on the enemies ahead.
Once they killed the lizardman-like old hag, Jun would return naturally.
[Hymnal of Light]
[Life Shield of Light]
[Bless of Light]
Physical enhancement, a barrier protecting from sudden attacks once, and ongoing healing holy magic enveloped Aiden, Maya, and Bern.
"Sorry... this is all I can do right now."
Eleanor berated her past self.
Holy magic had offensive spells too, but she hadn't learned them.
It was a habit formed after innocent people got hurt because of her as a child.
But Bern shook his head.
"Holy knights overcome all adversity."
Steeling his resolve, Bern gripped his battle hammer and shield tightly.